The present disclosure relates generally to plasma charges and uses thereof, more specifically to the use of plasma charges in well perforation. Perforating devices are often used to complete oil and natural gas wells. Typically, these devices having an array of charges are lowered downhole into a cased well. When the device is at the correct depth in the well, the charges are fired, sending shaped charge jets outward through the side of the device, through any fluid between the device and the well casing, through the well casing, and finally into the oil-bearing or natural-gas bearing rock. The resulting holes in the well casing allow oil or natural gas to flow into the well and to the surface. The remains of the device must then be withdrawn from the well after the charges have been fired.
Conventional shaped charges utilized for well completion are driven by explosive detonation pressure and typically include an explosive and a liner. After the explosive is detonated, the energy from the detonated explosive is transferred to the liner by detonation waves that squeeze liner material to form a jet having a speed on an order of about 5 km/s. The mass of a typically charge jet utilized in oilfield application may be in the order of 10 grams and may have a total kinetic energy on the order of 250 kJ. The performance of a shaped charge in oilfield applications mostly depends on the jet speed, which is limited by the detonation pressure of the current advanced high-energy explosives such as HMX [octogen-octahydro-1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazocine], RDX [cyclonite-hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine], PETN (Pentaerythritol tetranitrate)[3-Nitrooxy-2,2-bis(nitrooxymethyl)propyl]nitrate, and the like. It is difficult to significantly increase the detonation pressure with current advanced high-energy explosives. Further, explosives present a hazard with respect to manufacture, storage, and transportation.